His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 252: Show Off Opportunity

** Eli **

Yep, Eli was jealous. Apparently over some college kid who had only met Harper three times so far, who may or may not also happen to be his half-sister.

It probably didn’t sound rational at all, but he hated seeing someone else being the first and only one to get the hidden message behind Harper’s debut game. Why couldn’t he figure it out too? He was her best friend and had known her for so long. Just what kind of hint did the sneaky girl bury in there to make her so confident that he would never be able to find it?

That little grumpiness in his mind bubbled up even more when the girl chuckled again, ignoring his blatant threat. "Aww, you’re such a cute silly boy sometimes," she cooed, and she reached up with one hand, adoringly patting the top of his head.

Eli: "..."

He was stewing in some serious jealousy, and yet she dared to aww him! And she called him a cute boy!!

Bristling with indignity, Eli went straight for the kill, pinning her down firmly under his body and crushing his lips onto hers. Fine, no more nicety then — this little demoness was going to get a good taste of the big bad wolf tonight, and he’d see if she could still think of him as a cute boy at the end of it!

A gasp leaped out of her when he bit down on the fleshy center of her bottom lip, nibbling it with just enough force to catch her off guard with the pinch. "Reconsider your words before I make you beg," he whispered into her mouth, and his hand slipped under her shirt, teasing her as he traced up her stomach.

"... Hey! You’re playing dirty, that’s not sporting!" The girl chuckled again, wiggling beneath him and trying to catch his naughty hand, though she failed quickly when he snatched her wrist instead and pinned her arm above her head with an iron grip.

"Dirty, you say?" He smirked against her lips. "Sure, I can do that."

His free hand continued the slide that was interrupted, traveling further up her abdomen to her ribcage, and he was about to graze the underside of her bra—

About to, when a loud growl from her belly rumbled hard enough for the vibration to shoot up his arm, making both of them pause.

And as they both blinked and stared at each other speechlessly, the sound came again, even louder in the newly descended silence between them.

Harper: "..."

Eli: "..."

A few moments passed before they both broke into laughter, and Eli grunted, collapsing in defeat on top of her. "You win," he sighed dramatically. "I’ll go heat up dinner."

The triumphant grin on Harper’s face looked so evil that he couldn’t help but wonder if that belly rumble was done purposefully to ruin his "dirty" plan. Was it actually possible to control one’s stomach like that? Could he learn such a useful skill too?

"Now, that’s a good boy and deserves a bit of a reward." The evil girl, on the other hand, chirped merrily as she followed him into the kitchen. "Maybe I’ll consider giving you a hint ... the next time when we go to a concert for Christmas."

Concert? What kind of hint was that? "We’ve been to a concert before for Christmas," Eli reminded her. "Back when—"

"Not that type of concert! Not the symphonies or operas that you need to dress up for. Although I wouldn’t mind those at the same time as well." Harper considered it for a second, quickly distracted by the tangent of a thought. "It’ll be a good excuse for me to buy a new pretty dress," she mused.

Eli paused, arms stretched out and halfway to grabbing the lasagna tray in the fridge. "You want to go show off somewhere with a new pretty dress?" he asked. "Come to the summer gala with me at the end of the month."

He hadn’t actually planned on going to the gala. Not after the unpleasant conversation with his father last week, which had left him in bad enough of a mood that he hadn’t wanted to think about the whole thing again at all. But if Harper liked that kind of event ... then maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all?

"Summer gala?" Harper asked. "What’s that? More luxurious project summits you’re planning for us?"

"Nah, no more project summits. But luxurious, yes. Just about a hundred times more than the Hawaii vacation." Having finally moved the lasagna into the oven, Eli explained with a mysterious wink. "Imagine all the top finance magnates from the city gathering in the middle of the year to boast their success and bathe in glory, at the most exclusive and extravagant rooftop lounge in the city. Black tie dress code, where many ladies will be competing for attention with their personal designer dress collections. It’s the biggest event of Davenshire’s finance circle every summer."

Harper blinked. The glamorous affair seemed to have piqued her interest, but then she chewed her lips, and the look in her eyes was ... a bit uncertain. "Do I look like the kind of person to fit in at an event like that though?"

Eli raised an eyebrow at the utterly ridiculous question. "What do you mean? That you are too beautiful for the rest of the crowd? Or that you are too nice for the business people buried in dirty cash and bribery?"

That earned a laugh out of her, and he could see her slight unease fade.

Pulling her into his arms, Eli nuzzled her hair and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "You don’t need to pretend to belong in that world built upon pretenses and fake smiles, Harper. You are too good for it. But still, I want the people in that world to at least know who you are. And speaking of pretty dresses, what better chance than this to wear the most gorgeous evening gown designed just for you?"